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Visiting A Patient

KGH is open to family and friends 24 hours per-day.

Family and friends play an important role in a patient’s healing process. That's why Kingston General Hospital no longer has specific visiting hours. We are open to visitors 24/7 and you are welcome to come and spend time with your loved one whenever they feel ready. There are some general guidelines that we ask you to follow, for the safety and well-being of everyone in the hospital.

If you feel unwell, have an infection or flu-like symptoms, we ask you to not visit until you are feeling well again.

People who are in the hospital need to rest and recover. We encourage you to visit often, but consider keeping your visits short in duration.

The number of visitors that a patient should have at any one time is best determined with the help of the care team.

Children under the age of 14 should always be accompanied by an adult and have direct adult supervision (from someone other than the patient) at all times.

In some cases, we may need to restrict visiting opportunities to protect the privacy and rights of other patients. Also, in some cases, we may need to interrupt a visit if patient care is required.

We also offer a number of convenience options for you while you are here visiting your loved one. For food information please visit our food and shops page, and for other services such as the clinic pharmacy and bank machines, click here. If you need help finding your way around the hospital visit our getting around KGH page.

We ask that whenever possible, you enter the hospital through the main entrance located off Stuart Street, or use the tunnel from the underground parking garage. Because of the nature of patient care taking place in our Emergency department we ask that family and visitors do not access the hospital through the Emergency entrance.

While we do have an open visiting policy, some departments may have slightly different visitor guidelines.

VISITORS IN EMERGENCY

If you are coming to see someone who is being treated in the Emergency department, we ask that the number of visitors are limited to one visitor at a time for adult patients or two adult visitors (parents) for infant/child patients. For more information on the Emergency department, click here.

VISITORS IN CRITICAL CARE (ICU)

Family members and very close friends may visit patients in the Intensive Care Unit. The patient or a spokesperson for the patient should identify visitors the patient would want to see. To ensure patient privacy and in respect to other families in the ICU, we limit the number of visitors so that no more than two people are visiting a patient at one time. For more information about visiting the ICU, click here.

VISITORS IN THE NICU

Visitors to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) must be accompanied by a parent. The NICU is a locked unit and to gain access, you must call in (using the phone located outside of the NICU door) so staff can open the door. For information on the NICU, click here.

VISITORS IN MENTAL HEALTH

You are encouraged to visit during non-therapy activities. There is also a list of items that are not permitted inside the unit, so please be sure to check with a member of the care team before bringing anything in with you. For more information about the Mental Health program at KGH, click here.

Pets

We understand that animals can have an important role in the lives of some patients. If you would like to bring your family pet with you to visit a patient in the hospital, please speak to a member of the care-team ahead of time. They can help arrange and plan a visit that ensures the safety and comfort of all patients, families and staff. They will use the following guidelines when planning a visit from a pet.

Pets are limited to cats and dogs.

The visit is planned with approximate arrival times and fixed duration of visits.

Proof of annual vaccination with evidence of flea/tick program is required.

The pet must be clean, well groomed, well behaved and kept under control at all times by someone other than the patient.

The pet must be walked on a leash, carried or transported in a pet carrier.

The person bringing the pet to the hospital should provide a blanket or pad for the pet to rest on.

Any messes made by the pet are to be cleaned up by the person who brought the pet to the hospital.

Hand hygiene with soap and water or alcohol-based hand rub is required after the pet leaves the room.

Pet visitation is weighed against the risk of exposure to staff and patients who have allergies and will ultimately be decided by the care team in discussions with the patient.

Respect and Privacy

Kingston General Hospital values respect and privacy and we work to ensure that our patients, families, visitors, staff, physicians, learners and volunteers are treated with care. Please respect everyone's right to privacy while they are in the hospital. Abusive, aggressive or violent behavior will not be tolerated. We thank you for your consideration and cooperation in making KGH a safe place to be.

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